Kaira and Nate leaned on the Two Davids case. In front of them - Ian Blackpoole holding a gun on Nate and James Sterling, keeping Maggie close. The room was empty, besides the centerpiece.
"Where are they?" Ian asked, clearly upset.
Nate and Kaira remained calm.
"Clear the room. Clear the room!" Sterling ordered.
"Are you here to kill me, Ian?" Nate asked, a calm anger to him.
Kaira did too.
5 Days Earlier
It had been three months since the day Kaira and Eliot had to go into hiding. The place they called home had to be sold and the one place Kaira felt totally safe was blown up. Three months with no contact from the others. Kaira couldn't stand it. She missed the gang and wanted to know how they were. Kaira knew she had to do something big. Kaira woke up next to Eliot and got up. She brewed coffee and opened her laptop. She searched for Blackpoole's exhibit about the Two Davids.
Ever since her and Eliot had to go dark, it had been bugging the Hell out of her that she hadn't taken down Blackpoole yet for Nathan. Kaira heard the coffee finish brewing and grabbed a mug. She poured the coffee in the mug and grabbed the milk and creamer. She heard Eliot coming down the stairs. He walked into the kitchen, his hair wet from getting out of the shower. Kaira was pouring in the milk and creamer when Eliot came from behind her and kissed her neck. She giggled. Eliot had been more affectionate towards Kaira since they went dark. It was no secret why.
"Eliot, you're gonna make me spill my coffee everywhere!" Kaira exclaimed.
Then Eliot lifted her up bridal style and laid her on the couch. He crawled on top of her, peppering her face with kisses as Kaira giggled. He stopped and looked at her.
"I love you." He said.
"I love you too, cowboy." Kaira said, giving Eliot a kiss.
She looked at him, cupping his neck.
"Cowboy, you've been more affectionate than usual. You okay?" Kaira asked.
Kaira already knew why.
"Yeah. It's you, Princess, that has me worried. That's why I've been how I am." Eliot said, honest. Kaira smiled.
"My cowboy. Always cares about me." Kaira smiled.
Eliot did too.
"I am not okay. We lost contact with people I think of as family, the person I looked up to tricked us and lead to us having to blow up the one other place I feel safe. It's been bugging the Hell out of me that we can't go after Blackpoole for Nathan. So yeah I'm not okay. The one thing I thought I was doing right went to shit, and the people I care about paid the price." Kaira said, getting up and pacing.
Eliot stopped her.
"What if I told you that I made a plan to get Blackpoole?" Eliot said.
Kaira perked up. "What? You didn't, cowboy." Kaira said, excited.
"Yes. I saw your search history on your laptop. You've been researching Blackpoole's exhibit. I say we hit it in a couple of days for recon." Eliot said.
Kaira started grinning in excitement. "What's the plan then?" Kaira asked.
"Well, first, we drink that coffee you brewed and I'll cook us some breakfast. Then, I'll tell you my plan on recon for the exhibit. Then, we get started and make us a plan to stop this bastard." Eliot said.
Kaira hugged him and kissed his lips.
"Sounds like a plan." Kaira smiled.
The couple made their way into the kitchen and drank coffee as Eliot told Kaira the plan.
They'd both go in as security to gain access to any security codes they needed. Then when they got enough info, they'd make a plan and takedown Ian Blackpoole. They packed their bags later that day to get ready to head to the exhibit location and get a hotel room.
3 Days Earlier
Kaira and Eliot had already gotten most of the information they needed. They were completing a round on the second floor when Kaira noticed something. As Eliot and Kaira were walking towards the electrical room, right diagonal from them was a familiar young black man.
"Hardison!" Kaira said, in a loud whisper.
Kaira was actually happy. Eliot, not so much.
"What are you doing here?!" Eliot exclaimed loud whispering.
Hardison held his arms out.
"Damn it, Hardison." Eliot said, angrily but quietly.
"This is my spot. You go." Hardison said, motioning for them to move.
"Shh!" Eliot put his finger on his lips and shushed Hardison.
Kaira and Eliot saw some more security behind Hardison.
"Behind you. Look." Eliot warned, still quiet.
"What? What?" Hardison questioned, annoyed.
"Behind you!" Kaira exaggerated her lips to make her words clearer.
The security guys told Hardison to stay where he was. This caused Kaira to hear another voice. She turned. It was Parker.
"Parker?" Kaira questioned.
Eliot and Kaira started walking over to Hardison to get him out of his jam, as always. They waited by a door.
"Eliot. Kaira." Hardison said.
"I got you." Eliot said.
"Help me." Hardison said.
"We got you." Kaira mouthed.
Eliot then grabbed Hardison's arm and flipped him on his stomach. Kaira told the guards to back off.
"It's okay. He's a repeat offender. We'll deal with him." Kaira gave a smile as Eliot put cuffs on Hardison and Kaira and Eliot walked him out.
Eliot shoved him in the elevator next to them.
"Move." Eliot shoved Hardison in.
"I'm gonna kick your butt." Hardison kinda threatened.
Eliot moved him to the side of the elevator.
"I'm gonna kick your butt." Hardison said.
"Like you could." Kaira retorted, smiling at him.
Kaira got the cuffs off as the elevator neared the first floor. They ran and Kaira saw Sophie and Parker running towards the street, getting chased by security.
"What?" Sophie questioned, seeing Kaira and Eliot.
She had taken off her black heels and was running with Parker. Then a black car pulled up. Kaira recognized the driver as Nate. She smiled as she neared the car.
"Need a ride?" Nate asked.
"Please." Kaira said.
They got in, kinda squished, but in none the less. Nate drove off.
Hardison had Nate drive to a white mansion. They got out and started walking to the entrance.
"Hardison, what is this?" Nate asked.
"Yeah, well, since Sterling blew or covers, I had to find a new safe house. Lay low." Hardison explained, going up the sidewalk steps.
"This is your idea of laying low?" Sophie questioned.
Parker walked in first as the rest piled in. Eliot and Kaira had taken off their jackets and were holding them, going in.
"Wow." Sophie said.
"Hey, don't break nothing." Hardison warned.
"There's nothing to break." Eliot said.
Parker went to where the bathroom was to check the place out.
"Who ripped out the toilets?" Parker asked, coming back into the room.
"What? Why the hell would you buy a house with no toilets?" Kaira questioned, showing her confusion on her face.
"This was an I.R.S foreclosure. I got it cheap." Hardison explained.
"I.R.S doesn't take toilets." Eliot said, unamused.
"They do when they're solid gold." Hardison said.
Kaira's mouth dropped.
"Heard this used to be M.C Hammer's place. I guess you can touch this - with a SWAT team and a federal warrant." Hardison said.
He started walking down a hallway and the rest followed. They stood in a circle and waited for Nate and Sophie to walk in.
"How'd you know we'd be there?" Hardison asked.
Nate and Sophie joined the circle.
"Last week before the exhibit opens. Security almost in place, but not fully staffed. Best time to case the joint. Plus I did chase all of you at one point or another." Nate said.
"Is she in on this?" Eliot asked accusingly, tilting his head towards Sophie.
""She" can hear you, okay?" Sophie said, annoyed.
"Wait a minute. There is no "this", Eliot." Hardison said.
"Sophie did come back for me." Parker said.
Kaira sighed in agreement.
"Wouldn't have had to if she wouldn't have lied to you." Eliot said, not happy.
"No calls, three months. I don't need you people." Hardison said.
Kaira gasped. "Excuse me, Alec, but if it wasn't for me and Eliot, your winy ass would be in lockup right now!" Kaira exclaimed, upset.
"I seem to remember a certain job where I backed your play, actually." Sophie said, looking at Eliot.
Kaira moved in front of Eliot.
"You know what, Sophie, you don't con your own crew! You broke that rule. You also broke one of my rules. Never use anyone's kid against them, dead or alive. That part was what pissed me off the most, Soph. I thought you of all people would know where to draw the line. But you stepped over it and kept moseying. And you know what your excuse was. "I'm a thief." The exact quote. Well, you know, that's a pretty shitty excuse. Even for a grifter." Kaira yelled, getting out more of the pent-up anger she had.
Kaira took a breath and calmed down. "I came back because I want to see that bastard ruined. For Nathan. For Sam. And for every kid that Ian hurt because he's a selfish prick bastard." Kaira said in a calm anger.
Kaira kept it together. They all stepped back. They were shocked at how much anger Kaira had pent up. Nate whistled.
They turned around. He was looking at the plans on a desk Hardison had out.
"Glen-Reeder security system here." Nate said.
"That's not the worst of it." Parker walked over to Nate.
"The Davids are under bulletproof glass on a motion-detector pad." Parker explained.
"Really?" Nate questioned.
This caused the rest to walk over to Nate.
"Environmentally sealed. kept at a constant temperature and humidity in the case." Sophie explained.
"I saw them working on the airflow." Kaira said.
"You can get past the motion detectors, okay? I have a link to their security system and the video feed." Hardison explained.
"Guard rotation's too heavy for a day grab." Eliot said.
"At night they got two standing guards." Kaira explained.
Nate turned around.
"Why'd you come back? We agreed to scatter for six months. All of you - all of you - made an amateur move being there." Nate said.
Kaira chuckled a tiny bit.
"It's too hard to leave a job undone. It's like an itch." Parker said.
"I put a lot of work into us, into that office. It was like my second home. I blew up my second home." Hardison said, upset.
"Can't leave a job undone, can I? Plus I want to see Ian go down in a ball of flames." Kaira said, a calmness to her which freaked the team out some.
"As annoying as you people are, I quit this crew, when I quit this crew. Nobody makes me leave." Eliot said.
Kaira nodded in agreement.
"I just - I really wanted to hurt Sterling." Sophie said.
Nate turned to the side.
"Well, he's taken over security for the gallery. So if we work together - if we work together, we can kill two birds with one stone -break Blackpoole and humiliate Sterling." Nate said.
"No, no. Sterling knows our game, man, okay? It's gonna be twice as hard to steal those statues." Hardison said.
Kaira showed she agreed.
"Oh, no, no. It'll be four times as hard. They know we're coming." Nate informed the team.
Kaira groaned. "Nathan, man, you know you're like a father to me, but what in the actual Hell were you thinking? Talk about preaching to the choir." Kaira groaned at the new knowledge.
The team looked at Kaira.
"Nate, we all want to hurt these guys, right? They humiliated us. But taunting them? The - the response is going to be... biblical." Sophie realized.
Nate moved to behind the crew.
"That's what I'm counting on." Nate said, leaving.
The team sat down and planned how to get into the exhibit and pull off the job.
Kaira sat on Eliot's lap as they looked at the plans. Nate walked back in and Sophie went up to him with some papers.
"Hey, I think the roof's the way in. But it looks like they've rigged alarm sensors to the skylights." Sophie informed Nate.
"I can get around those." Parker said.
"Really? And end up on one of the new 20 cameras they got down there from our last little trip to the basement?" Eliot questioned.
"That was fun." Parker said.
Kaira smiled in agreement.
"Yeah. Could we talk about that?" Hardison said to Parker.
"Talk about what?" Parker questioned.
"You know, none of this takes into account any new security measures that Sterling might have added since Nate made his little play date." Sophie said.
Nate looked at his team. "Where is the air coming from? The statues are in a sealed case, kept at a constant humidity and temperature. Air moves in and out. How?" Nate asked.
Eliot unfolded the floor plan and him, Parker, and Kaira looked at it.
"All right, from what I saw, the airflow to the museum passes through the base of the display, right?" Sophie inferred.
"Hollow base underneath the statues, so what's underneath the base?" Nate asked.
Kaira visualized the layout. "The restoration room." Kaira realized.
"It's like a maze of rooms down there - airflow control, heating, storage." Hardison explained.
"How'd we miss that?" Eliot asked.
"Grifter, hitter, hacker, thief, jack of trades. You were all trying to solve your version of the crime instead of just trying to... solve the crime. There was a reason we worked together." Nate said.
"Yeah... was." Eliot said, looking at Sophie.
Kaira gave her a sympathetic look.
"Okay, we need access to that restoration room. We need somebody on the inside." Nate said, pointing to the restoration room on the plans.
"We can't run a con, Nathan. They know our faces." Kaira pointed out.
"What about Maggie?" Parker questioned.
"Exactly. I mean, most of the museum people aren't gonna recognize us, but Maggie - she works down there." Sophie said.
Kaira realized what Parker was getting at.
"Maggie could be our inside woman." Kaira said.
"I get it. Just have Eliot and Kaira call her as Dr. Sinclair and Sky Davis. We won't play her. You just feel her out." Hardison said.
Kaira groaned.
"Have Eliot and Kaira... feel out my wife?" Nate questioned, not liking the plan.
"Hardison, why did you have to make it sound dirty? We just talk to her, and see if we can get her to be our inside woman." Kaira said, trying to make the situation less awkward.
"Feel out." Eliot said, getting a slap in the arm from Kaira.
"Ex, Nate - ex-wife." Sophie pointed out, unamused.
"Okay, look, you always have a plan 'B', right? So fine. Without Maggie, what's plan 'B'?" Parker asked. Nate was gonna say something but didn't.
They needed Maggie to pull this off. The team left, leaving Eliot and Kaira to call Maggie to set a meeting. Eliot put the phone between him and Kaira to call her.
"Hello?" Maggie answered the phone.
"Hey, Maggie, how you doing?" Eliot said.
"Hey, Maggie. It's Sky and Adam." Kaira said.
"Sky, Adam. What a nice surprise." Maggie said.
"Ease into it. Don't rush her." Nate said.
Kaira motioned for Nate to be quiet.
"Yeah. Listen, We're in - we're back in Los Angeles for awhile." Eliot said.
"You know. I had to ask her out ten times before we even got coffee-" Nate was saying.
Eliot motioned for Nate to be quiet.
"Did you want to meet up for coffee?" Kaira asked into the phone.
Maggie agreed.
"We'd love to. Yeah. What time?" Eliot asked.
Maggie suggested in an hour.
"In an hour? Sounds good. Let me just grab a pen and paper to write down where you want to meet." Kaira grabbed the pen and paper on the desk.
Maggie told them.
"We know exactly where that place is at. All right. We're looking forward to it." Eliot said, hanging up the phone.
"Yeah - All right - no." Nate said, unamused.
"Nathan. Maggie isn't interested in Eliot or me for a relationship, just friends to talk to. You really need to move on." Kaira told Nate.
"It's not like a date." Eliot reiterated.
He put his hair in a ponytail.
"Are you kidding me? You're fixing you hair?" Nate questioned, not happy.
"Because I'm playing the Professor Sinclair dude!" Eliot exclaimed, getting up and leaving.
Kaira followed behind to get ready. Eliot put on some dress pants and a blue flannel and a chocolate-colored suit jacket. Kaira put on a simple light blue dress. She had on the lipstick which drove Eliot crazy. They drove to the coffee shop a bit early and Eliot and Kaira got seats.
Maggie arrived and sat across from them. They ordered and got their coffee.
"There you are." The waitress poured the coffee in Eliot's cup, then Kaira's, then Maggie's.
They thanked the waitress as she left. Kaira and Eliot smiled.
"You come here a lot?" Eliot asked.
"Wouldn't blame you if you did. This is a beautiful place." Kaira smiled.
"No. I just wanted to see you two." Maggie said, smiling.
Kaira was slightly confused about what the idea was here. They kept talking. The rest were in the van.
"That's a date." Sophie said.
"Do we really need to put a button cam on Eliot?" Parker questioned.
"Safety issue." Nate said.
"We're not gonna talk about art are we all afternoon, are we?" Maggie asked.
Kaira chuckled. "Oh, god no. We can talk about whatever you want to talk about." Kaira said.
"Good. It's all my ex-husband wanted to talk about." Maggie was saying when the waitress came by with menus.
"And it was so tedious. Listen..." Maggie sat down her menu and put her hands on Eliot and Kaira's hands.
Kaira was slightly uncomfortable but had no choice but to roll with it.
"I want to thank you two. I haven't hung out with many people since my marriage broke up." Maggie said, kinda flirting a bit.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Eliot said, slightly uncomfortable.
"No, don't be. He was obsessive, perfectionist, controlling." Maggie said before opening her menu.
"Organized! She used to say I was organized. And punctual." Nate said, flustered.
"He must have had some good qualities." Eliot said.
Kaira was taking a sip of coffee.
"No, not even in bed." Maggie said.
Kaira choked on her coffee, trying to not break.
"Ooh!" Parker exclaimed.
"Every night was prom night. You know what I mean?" Maggie said.
Kaira composed herself.
"Yeah. I had an ex in high school who was like that. Man was that the worst." Kaira said.
Maggie chuckled a bit as Eliot was just uncomfortable.
"But worst of all... he completely forgot that I gave him the same button camera for Christmas three years ago." Maggie said.
Kaira got up and showed Maggie where the van was and stayed behind as Maggie opened the door.
"I can explain." Nate said.
Sophie was eating popcorn. They loaded up and drove to the mansion.
Nate and Maggie were arguing.
"I feel used." Eliot said, sitting on the stairs with Kaira, Parker, and Harison.
Maggie walked out the door as Nate followed.
"It's going great." Nate said, leaving.
Parker moved over to Sophie as she was leaning against the wall near the door.
"We can tell." Sophie said.
Kaira went to another room and listened to the argument.
"Maggie!" Nate called out.
"And to think I felt sorry for you!" Maggie exclaimed.
"Maggie!" Nate called out again.
"That whole sob story about being broke and sleeping in your car and a drunk." Maggie said, not happy.
"Was! Was broke. Was sleeping in the car. The drunk thing, not quite in the past tense." Nate explained.
"What is all this, Nate?" Maggie asked Nate.
"This - them... Maggie we help people." Nate explained, breathing a bit heavy.
"You break the law." Maggie said.
"No - pick up where the law leaves off." Nate said.
Kaira smiled a bit.
"Wow. You are not the same man I married." Maggie said.
"Uh, what-" Nate was saying before Maggie cut him off.
"So, who does this help? Blackpoole's a bastard, Nate. He was a bastard when you worked for him. What's changed?" Maggie questioned.
It was silent for a while.
"Just help me understand." Maggie said.
Kaira started tearing up some. Nate was silent for a while.
"I have to tell you something, Mag. Please." Nate said, starting to get emotional.
"What?" Maggie questioned.
Nate was still breathing heavily.
"Mag... when Sam was in stage four, I found a treatment that would've helped him. And I went to Ian to pay for it... and he wouldn't." Nate explained.
"He wouldn't?" Maggie questioned softly.
"He wouldn't. I told him we had mortgaged the house, sold the car, that we were broke, and he still wouldn't pay the claim. 20 years at that company and they wouldn't help save our son." Nate said.
Kaira could tell he was emotional.
"Why didn't you tell me this?" Maggie asked.
"I work with these people, Nate. I am friendly with them. You just let me walk around like an idiot. He's my son, too." Maggie said, getting emotional as well.
"I know. I know." Nate said, emotional.
"Why have you been just carrying this around all this time?" Maggie questioned.
"I didn't want you to hate me, Maggie." Nate said.
"Why would I hate you?" Maggie questioned.
Kaira was surprised. All this time and Maggie couldn't blame Nate for not saving their son.
"I do. If I had ever seen you look at me the way I looked at myself in the mirror, I would've blown my damn brains out." Nate said, still emotional.
Kaira started crying.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Nate said, apologetically.
Kaira took out her comm and started crying. Eliot heard her and found her in the room. He hugged her as Kaira cried in his shoulder. She managed to calm herself down and compose herself.
She and Eliot walked into the meeting room and Nate went into the plan.
The order of seating was Hardison, Maggie, Parker, Kaira on Eliot's lap, then Sophie. Eliot massaged Kaira's neck to keep her calm.
"So, we reinforce the rebar and replace the concrete. With any luck, they'll never know what hit 'em. And that - that's the plan." Nate finished explaining.
"You actually expect this to work?" Maggie questioned.
"Um, generally yeah. It's kinda Nate's thing." Kaira said, confused.
"No, no, you're supposed to say, "Wow. That's just crazy enough to work."." Hardison said.
"Incredibly, chance does seem to bend itself to his bizarre machinations." Sophie said.
"That's his superpower." Parker whispered.
She then sniffed Maggie. Maggie just looked at her.
"Okay, um... Now, do you have what we need?" Nate asked Maggie.
"I have to check museum inventory." Maggie said.
"Oh. Easy." Nate said as Hardison got to typing.
He handed the laptop to Maggie.
"This is confidential. You're not reading my emails, are you?" Maggie asked.
Hardison chuckled. "No. No." Hardison said.
Hardison shook his head yes. Nate eyed Hardison.
"He won't - here. This is the only thing big enough for what you need." Maggie said, showing the object to Nate.
"Great. Okay. Now, how soon can you get that in the restoration room?" Nate asked Maggie.
Maggie laughed a bit. "That's not my department. You have to convince the museum director, Darien Lloyd, to pull it from the display." Maggie explained, closing the laptop and handing it to Hardison.
"Okay." Nate acknowledged, turning around.
"Nate?" Maggie said.
Nate turned back around.
"You can't just make somebody do what you want them to do." Maggie said.
Kaira chuckled.
"Oh." Eliot laughed a little.
"That's kinda what we do here." Kaira chuckled a bit.
"You're adorable." Parker said, patting Maggie's head.
"Parker!" Kaira warned.
Maggie was a little confused but was okay. They got up and got ready. Kaira took Maggie aside before they left.
"Maggie, I want you to know that I'm sorry about what happened to your son. Nobody, especially a mother, should have to deal with the loss of a child." Kaira said.
Maggie smiled a bit.
"Thank you." Maggie said.
"Listen, Maggie, we really do help people. We help people that are in a similar situation you and Nathan were in. We help people who are hurt by these big corporations that have lawyers and money to cover everything up. We give these people the leverage they need to get the compensation they deserve." Kaira explained.
"So you really do pick up where the law leaves off." Maggie said.
"Yeah. If it wasn't for Nathan, I wouldn't have found this team. They're like my family. And Nathan's kinda like a dad to me." Kaira explained.
"I'm glad Nate's found some people to watch out for him." Maggie said.
Maggie and Kaira hugged.
They left and met back up the next day. Maggie, Parker, and Sophie left.
Eliot was waiting for Kaira with Hardison. He gave her a peck on the lips and she sat down on his lap. Eliot then put his hair in a half ponytail. Kaira was smiling. Hardison looked at them weird.
"What - why does your girlfriend look like that, Eliot?" Hardison asked.
Eliot chuckled. "She likes it when I have my hair like this. This is payback for wearing that lipstick I like during coffee." Eliot said.
Kaira chuckled as Hardison groaned in disgust. Sophie, Maggie, and Parker were going in. Kaira, Eliot, Hardison, and Nate were back at the mansion.
"Maggie, it won't fall out. Just pretend it's not there." Nate said.
"Yeah, just forget my ex-husband's voice in my head. Telling me what he thinks I should do. I'm in therapy to solve exactly this problem." Maggie said, sitting down.
"Uh... I - sorry." Nate said.
"It does take a little to get used to, don't worry." Kaira said.
"What, hearing your ex in your head?" Maggie retorted.
Kaira tried to not chuckle as Nate looked disappointed.
"The feeling of the comm." Kaira answered.
"Um, okay, Parker's on her approach, so I want you-" Nate said before Maggie interrupted.
"So nobody else finds it annoying when you nag them in the middle of these things?" Maggie questioned.
"Why don't I run this one, Nate?" Sophie suggested.
"Yeah. I don't nag. You know, I just have a, you know, clear big-picture viewpoint." Nate said.
"You do kinda nag the hell out of us." Kaira said.
"Actually, you know what? We did kind of liked the way Sophie ran the last one." Hardison said.
"Yeah. Yeah. Right up to the point where she got us caught, but other than that, it was great." Eliot said, eating chips.
"Yeah, all right. Fine, fine." Nate gave in.
"You're in therapy? How come you didn't-" Nate asked Maggie before Hardison cut him off.
"None of that. No. No. Hey, I will cut you off." Hardison warned as Nate argued.
"Nathan, you know that is the one thing you don't ask someone who is in therapy. She don't need to tell you why." Kaira told Nate off.
"Thanks, Kaira." Maggie said.
"You're welcome, Maggie." Kaira said.
"What did Parker switch his medications with?" Maggie asked.
"Pollen - ragweed mostly. And dextroamphetamine." Sophie explained.
Kaira groaned.
"Ooh." Maggie said.
"Remind me to tell Parker to stop using speed on these jobs." Kaira said.
Soon Parker made the switch. She bumped into Lloyd and switched out his glasses and his meds.
"Okay, why don't you run up to him? Be just a little bit out of breath, it changes the speech rhythms, makes it harder to detect a lie." Sophie ordered.
Maggie did just that as Parker was leaving.
"Lloyd!" Maggie said, doing what Sophie told her to do.
"See? Like that right there. It's informative." Hardison said, eating a chip.
"You learn and you con." Eliot said.
"Yeah, yeah." Nate said.
"You forgot this in my office." Maggie said, handing him the phone Parker lifted.
"I - when was that?" Lloyd asked.
"Five minutes ago. I showed the designs for the Two Davids exhibit. You signed off on the benches. You okay?" Maggie said.
"Good job." Kaira complimented.
"Good. Now steer him toward me. Don't tell him. Just give him half an idea. Let him complete it." Sophie ordered.
"I'll bring you the rest of the plans after your thing in the Egyptian room." Maggie said.
Maggie then left.
"I have a thing in the Egyptian room?" Lloyd questioned, confused.
He put on his glasses and looked disorientated. Lloyd made his way to the Egyptian room. He opened up his laptop.
"Ahlan biki, director Lloyd." Sophie said in an Egyptian accent.
"Dr. Rahman of the Cairo Museum. I was - I was so worried that I had the wrong day." Sophie said in character.
Sophie shook his hand.
"Oh, no, no. I-I don't have an appointment." Lloyd said, looking at his calendar on his laptop, which showed a meeting.
He kept coughing.
"Oh, yes, I do." Lloyd said.
"Oh, dear, that um - no, that doesn't sound good at all." Sophie said, showing concern.
"I've had it for weeks." Lloyd said.
"Well, I've confirmed the markings, and I concur - definitely fourth dynasty. The sarcophagus of Pharaoh Menkaure." Sophie explained.
Lloyd played with his glasses.
"Everything's blurry." Lloyd pointed out, quiet.
"I'm so relieved to finally meet someone who's got the good sense to ignore all that silly, silly curse business." Sophie said.
Lloyd looked at Sophie.
"Say what?" Lloyd questioned, nervous.
"Well, I'll certify the authenticity as you requested. It was very nice to meet you." Sophie said.
She shook Lloyd's hand. Lloyd coughed again.
"Nice to meet you." Lloyd said.
He kept couching as Sophie wiped her hand on her black dress.
"Thank you. Um... so, uh, goodbye then. And, well, I-I recommend you - you see a doctor about that cough. It does seem to be going to your chest." Sophie said.
"It's just allergies." Lloyd said.
Sophie left and Lloyd looked up the mummy curse.
"Okay, he's just checked all the places the sarcophagus was stored before it hit the museum." Hardison informed Nate, who was looking at the plan on the board.
"Okay. What's he found?" Nate asked, looking at the hacker, sitting down.
Kaira and Eliot leaned in to look at the screen. Hardison pulled up the sites.
"Oh. Well, looky here. Dr. Ernst Volk, University of Berlin - dead. Dr. Schliemann, London Museum - dead. Oh, and also the three guys that actually discovered the tomb. Eliot, what does that say?" Hardison explained.
"It says dead." Eliot said.
"D-E-D- dead, baby." Hardison said.
"D-E-A-D." Eliot, Kaira, and Nate corrected him.
"I-I know how to - I was throwing a little style on it, just a little bit. A little style. I know how to spell "Dead", damn it. I can steal a bank, I can spell 'dead'." Hardison said.
He took a sip of his orange soda.
"Knowledge does not equal common sense. I'm just saying." Kaira said, taking a swig of beer.
Hardison looked at her like she was crazy. Nate and Eliot smiled.
"Wrap it up now, Maggie. You're doing great." Sophie said.
"There you are. Can you just sign these?" Maggie said.
"Sure." Lloyd said. He coughed again.
"Hey, uh, Maggie... you don't believe in curses, do you? You know, mummy's curses, unexplained deaths around sarcophagus's?" Lloyd questioned.
He and Maggie started to laugh at the ridiculousness of it.
"Don't be silly. Everyone knows it's a fungus." Maggie said, serious.
"What?" Lloyd questioned, unsure.
"Aspergillus Flavus - found on Egyptian artifacts. Gets in the eyes and nose, infection spreads, and the next thing you know - another death from the curse." Maggie explained, nonchalantly.
They both laughed again.
"So, uh, what are the symptoms?" Lloyd asked.
"Congestion, memory loss, blurry vision." Maggie said.
Lloyd had it moved to the restoration room. Nate and Hardison pushed it and Eliot and Kaira guided the sarcophagus. They left and went back to the mansion.
Kaira was helping Eliot with the thing he was building as Nate and Sophie came down the stairs.
"That was a good idea. I just, um - just - give me a moment." Sophie said, looking at Eliot and Kaira.
Nate left to the other room. She walked over to Eliot and Sophie, who looked up at her.
"You need something?" Eliot asked, a part in his mouth.
"I was just trying to make myself useful." Sophie said.
Eliot took the part out of his mouth.
"Yeah, well, last time you tried that, we had to blow up the office." Eliot said.
"That's not fair." Sophie said.
"I just just getting used to it." Eliot said.
"What? Having an office?" Sophie asked.
Eliot and Kaira looked at her.
"Being part of a team." Eliot said.
Kaira stood up and sighed. "You know, Sophie, I hadn't been on a team in two years before I met you guys. It was always me and Eliot. But the office? That was one of the only places where I felt safe. You decided to be selfish and got my safe space blown up." Kaira said, frustrated. Parker walked in.
"Look, I didn't mean - you know, it wasn't supposed to go down like that." Sophie said.
Parker sat down her big, black bag.
"What's going on?" Parker asked.
"Sophie here was just trying to apologize." Eliot said.
"And she's doing a really shitty job of it." Kaira hissed.
"No, I wasn't." Sophie said, defensive. Hardison came in with the painting of Old Nate.
"She tried that with me earlier. She kind of sucks at it." Parker said.
Sophie looked at the team, taken back.
"A little bit." Eliot said.
"Oh, did she give you the speech about how we're thieves and about how this is what thieves do, and if we were in her shoes, we'd have done the same thing?" Hardison said, not surprised.
"No, I think she was getting to that part." Eliot said.
He sat down his thing and stood up.
"You apologized to him first, huh? Why are me and her last?" Eliot asked, pointing to Hardison.
"I wasn't apologizing. I..." Sophie was saying defensively before Kaira cut her off.
"That's the problem, Soph." Kaira said, softly.
"I just wanted to see if... we... we were all okay with each other." Sophie said.
"Okay. There it is." Eliot said. They turned to walk away.
"I forgive you." Parker said.
"Apology accepted." Hardison said.
They got back to what they were doing.
"No, I wasn't - unh-unh. You - I didn't..." Sophie said as Hardison and Parker were hanging up the picture of Old Nate.
"Oh, no, no. Just - uh, edge it left a little bit. Uh... yeah. There." Sophie said.
Kaira smiled. Kaira took Sophie aside.
"That wasn't so hard, was it, Soph?" Kaira asked her.
"What do you mean?" Sophie questioned.
"Was it so hard to apologize?" Kaira asked again.
Sophie stayed silent.
"I'm sorry I was a bitch before we split and I snapped at you earlier. I've always had problems with people and trust. And also anger come to think of it. Point is, I'm done being angry. Maybe I was a bit selfish in thinking that I was the only one who hurt because of that. I know you probably didn't look at yourself the same after that." Kaira said.
"It's okay. I forgive you. And you're right." Sophie said.
Kaira huffed and turned.
"For the record, I would not have done the same thing if I was in your spot. If it was just me and Eliot doing this job back then, hell yeah I would've done the same thing. But back then, I was greedy. I was a bad person. We aren't those people anymore Soph. We help people. That's our job. This job was about helping Nathan. And I'm starting to think this job cost us more than we'll gain from it. But then again, this isn't about winning or losing. This is about helping people. So that's what I'm gonna do. And we need you with us. I mean, Nathan listens to you. You can coaks him off the edge. Me and Eliot can't do everything. So I'm willing to let bygones be bygones and start over if you are." Kaira said, turning to face Sophie.
She started smiling. She opened her arms for a hug and Kaira hugged her.
"Of course." Sophie said.
They met up with the rest of the team the next day and got ready to pull this off.
Eliot and Kaira walked together, as they watched Sterling and his security do their rounds.
"Pictures have been distributed. We're scanning every guest that comes into the museum." The security guy reported.
"Eliot Spencer." Sterling said.
"Eliot Spencer - wanted in five countries, including Myanmar, which is offering a half-million dollar bounty on his head." The security guy said.
"Bringing Spencer to justice and getting paid for it? It's icing on the cake. What about his girlfriend, Kaira Newton?" Sterling said.
"Wanted in seven countries, and Myanmar is offering the same bounty as her boyfriend." The security guy said.
"A modern-day Bonnie and Clyde couple. We'll send them both to Myanmar." Sterling said.
He went into the elevator as Kaira and Eliot continued walking. Nate went up to the entrance. Ian let him in, much to the disappointment of Sterling. Kaira watched as Sterling took the bait with the mummy. Kaira saw the glass container fill with gas. Then all the team's cellphones rang, giving them the time to complete their jobs. Kaira saw the crowd freaking out and Sterling's security tried their best to control everyone.
Then the crowd started pulling David statues out of their bags. Sterling corralled them outside. Then Hardison locked him outside as Nate triggered the roof alarm, sliding down the rope. Nate landed kinda hard. Nate smiled at Kaira, Eliot, Parker, and Sophie as the rope fell. Soon the metal plating that Sterling installed activated, locking Nate and the crew in the darkened room.
"Let's go to work." Nate ordered.
They got started on the plan. They loaded up the paintings in the restoration room and Nate and Kaira leaned on the Davids case. Nate looked at Kaira.
"You ready for this?" Nate asked her.
"I've waited eight years for this." Kaira said.
Nate nodded.
Then Ian opened the door to the exhibit. The room was dark. The only thing that could be seen was Nate, Kaira, and the Davids.
"Two Davids. Thank god." Ian said, chuckling.
"Got you, Nate. Kaira." Sterling said.
"Yes, that was the whole point." Nate said.
"Power's back up in about 15 seconds." One of Sterlings security reported.
"What does that mean?" Sterling questioned.
"You know - all that chasing me around.
"Don't let Nate Ford near the Two Davids." "How is Nate Ford gonna get the Two Davids?" I wasn't the mastermind on this one, Sterling. I'm the bait." Nate said.
"Three, two, one." Kaira counted down.
Just then the lights came back on, revealing that every painting that was on the walls was gone.
"What was your role, Kaira?" Sterling asked.
"You'll see soon enough, you British bastard." Kaira hissed.
"No! T-the room was locked!" Ian exclaimed, panicking over the loss of the paintings.
"Sometimes the classics really are the best." Nate quipped.
"They were masterpieces! They're worth-" Lloyd was saying before Maggie cut him off.
"150 million dollars. The Vermeer, Caravaggio, two Van Eycks - at least." Maggie said, revealing her role in this. Lloyd got on his phone.
"We need to call the police." Lloyd said.
"Yeah, you should." Kaira quipped.
"No, not the police." Ian said.
"What do you mean?" Lloyd questioned.
"No, I'm responsible! All the paintings in this room - they were my responsibility. No, they were all loaned to me..." Ian was saying, upset before having his "oh shit" moment.
"Oh, well done." Sterling complimented.
"Every single masterpiece in this room is insured by I.Y.S. That's a 150 million dollar payout. Now, what do you think your board of directors are gonna do when they realized you've lost the company 150 million dollars?" Nate said, taunting Ian.
Ian then grabbed the gun from one of the nearby security guards. He pointed it at Nate and Kaira, who remained calm. Though it was obvious Kaira was pissed off.
"Where are they?" Ian asked.
The crowd in front of them was freaking out.
"Clear the room." Sterling ordered.
"Where are they?" Ian repeated. "Clear the room!" Sterling ordered. He got everyone out of the room. "Are you here to kill me, Ian?" Nate asked, staying calm.
Ian cocked the gun. Nate and Kaira looked at Sterling.
"Here's how it's gonna go, Sterling." Nate said.
"I'm all ears." Sterling said.
"No, you talk to me, not to them. You talk to me." Ian said, angry.
"Every single painting will be returned to I.Y.S the moment Ian Blackpoole is stripped of his position and all his assets in the company." Kaira said, still calm.
"Also, his policy of denying every claim - that ends." Nate said.
"Extortion." Sterling said.
"I prefer to call it oversight." Nate said.
Kaira grabbed the recorder that was behind them and played it.
"Last time I saw you, you were selling me something." Ian said in the recording.
"I got out of sales." Nate said in the recording.
"So, what are you in now?" Ian asked in the recording.
"Theft. Yeah, I'm going to rob the Two Davids exhibit on opening day. Well, aren't you gonna call the police?" Nate said in the recording.
"Of course not." Ian said in the recording.
Kaira stopped the recorder and tossed it to Sterling, who caught it. Ian still had the gun on them.
"What do you think the owners of these paintings are gonna do when they find out you knew there was gonna be a theft at the gallery but did nothing?" Kaira asked Ian, staring him down.
"They're gonna sue the hell out of him, aren't they?" Nate said.
"But if the company, I-in good faith... returns their paintings?" Sterling questioned, weighing his options.
"They might not fire you if you give them Blackpoole." Nate said.
Sterling started chuckling at the idea. Ian pointed the gun at Sterling once he realized what was happening.
"No. Sterling, you work for me. I.Y.S is my company." Ian said, upset still.
He pointed the gun back at Nate and Kaira.
"Can't let personal feelings affect policy. You have a responsibility to shareholders. No exceptions." Nate said, showing his calm anger.
Ian lowered the gun and Nate grabbed it and handed it to Kaira. She put it in her pants.
Nate walked up to Ian.
"I have lost my only son. Do you really think you scare me?" Nate said, a calm anger to his voice.
"You really think you could've gotten away with killing me, Ian? I got a boyfriend who would gladly kill you and they'd never find your body, a brother who will hack whatever he needs to ruin you, a sister who will steal everything you own, and a mother that would steal your security, and a father who would plan it all." Kaira said, a calm anger to her voice.
She drew the gun and pointed it at Ian. Ian was scared shitless.
"You see, Ian, there are two types of people in this world who are dangerous. The ones who have nothing to lose who will die getting justice, and the ones with everything to lose who will fight to protect the ones they love. Nathan lost everything because of you. I lost everything because of you." Kaira said.
Ian was panicking. "What are you talking about? What do you have against me?" Ian asked, shaking.
"Oh, you stupid son of a bitch. You ruined a good person's life. You killed his son, ruined his marriage, ruined his job, ruined his life. Me? Eight years ago, a couple went to you, asking to pay for the chemo treatment for their young daughter, citing the bullshit excuse that the treatment wasn't guaranteed to work. Those were my parents. My sister, Kasey Newton, was six years old when she died because of you. I was 17. A year later, my parents died because they couldn't pay the medical bills and the funeral costs. So I really have no reason not to kill you right now." Kaira said, angry.
She took a breath and put the gun away.
"But I won't. Because humiliating you is so much more satisfying. And the look on your face. You had no control. You were powerless. That's how me and Nathan felt as we watched our lives go to shit. See, now I have everything to lose because of Nathan. I have a family. So in a way, I gotta thank you, Ian. Because if you hadn't turned my life to shit, then I wouldn't have met my boyfriend, wouldn't have become a thief, and I wouldn't have met my crew." Kaira said, getting up to Ian's face, speaking quietly.
Kaira had an angry and pissed-off face. Ian was so scared. He turned to face Maggie.
"Maggie!" Ian called to her.
He started walking over to her and Kaira, Nate, and Sterling moved to the archway.
Kaira and Nate looked at each other, knowing what would happen next.
"Will - you understand-" Ian was saying.
Maggie clocked him in the face, going down, hard. Nate looked impressed.
"Oh, should've warned you, Ian. Maggie knows you ruined her life. What's that old saying?" Kaira turned to Nathan.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Nate answered.
"Especially a mother who lost her son." Kaira finished.
Maggie looked at the trio at the archway, then back at Ian.
"Screw therapy. That felt really good." Maggie said.
"Good form with the punch, Maggie." Kaira said to Maggie ad she was leaving.
"Thanks." Maggie smiled, leaving.
"So, you know your entire plan depended on me being a self-serving, utter bastard." Sterling realized.
"Hmm. Yeah, that's a stretch." Nate said.
"Wasn't that hard. You are a bastard, Sterling." Kaira said, handing the gun to Sterling.
Nate and Kaira started walking.
"I'll call you when it's done." Sterling said.
"You do that." Nate said.
Ian got up as Nate and Kaira walked beside him. Kaira clocked him and Ian went down. Kaira chuckled, holding her hand.
"Damn. Maggie was right. That does feel good." Kaira said, walking with Nathan out the door.
Kaira went down with the team in the room they used to store the paintings. The team hugged Kaira as she entered the room. She started tearing up.
"Why didn't you tell us about what happened to your sister?" Hardison questioned, holding her shoulders like a big brother would.
"Because I didn't want pity from anyone." Kaira said.
"Hey, sweetheart, why would we pity you? I mean, all this time you've been itching to go after Blackpoole. We would've helped you." Eliot said, hugging Kaira.
"I know, babe. I'm sorry. I should've said something sooner." Kaira said, wiping her eyes.
Sophie hugged her next.
"You have every right to be angry at me for blowing our chance earlier because I was selfish." Sophie said, tearing up some.
"I'm not angry anymore, Sophie. I mean, I was selfish in thinking Blackpoole only hurt me and Nathan. And I learned a long time ago that pent up anger will only make your life hell." Kaira said, calming down some.
Parker hugged Kaira next. Surprisingly, Parker let down some tears.
"I'm sorry." Parker said.
"It's okay." Kaira said.
Kaira composed herself as Nathan came down the ladder they had placed with Maggie.
"Before we put the artwork away, it's only fair I tell you the full story of what happened." Kaira said.
Maggie went up to Kaira.
"It's okay. You don't owe anyone an explanation." Maggie said.
"No. I do." Kaira said, composing herself.
"As I told Ian, eight years ago, my sister died because Ian refused to pay for the chemo treatment that would have treated her lung cancer. A year later, I was at school and I got called down to the main office. There were two police officers in the office waiting for me. They told me that my parents died. It wasn't until a few days after that I learned what happened." Kaira explained, trying to stay calm.
Eliot went up to her.
"What happened?" Eliot asked.
"My dad got high and drunk. Shot my mom and then killed himself. See, we were broke from medical bills and the funeral costs. My dad and mom spent what we had on drugs and alcohol. My mom got clean, but my dad didn't. He had come home that night, pissed off at my mom. And that's my story." Kaira finished explaining.
The team hugged her and gave her their sympathy, which Kaira accepted. She composed herself and got to work.
They got the artwork in place and exited through the restoration room. Nate pushed the sarcophagus out of the way.
"Eliot, Kaira, and Hardison will replace the floor panel, seal the hole - no one will ever know what happened." Nate said laying out the final plan.
"We'll move all the artwork into the loading dock, make it look like someone from the outside dropped it off." Sophie said.
Eliot shut the door. They did just that. Kaira and Eliot sealed the hole and replaced the floor panel, and Sophie, Nate, Parker, and Maggie moved the artwork to the loading dock.
The team met back up later that evening at an airstrip.
They stood in a circle. "Thank you... all of you. You surprised me." Nate said.
Kaira was tearing up a bit. She hugged Eliot.
"We had a good run." Eliot said.
"It's a good time to move on." Hardison said.
"I'm going somewhere... else." Parker said.
"A fresh start." Sophie said.
Kaira sniffed and wiped her eyes.
"Thank you all for showing me what real family looks like." Kaira smiled through the tears.
"We made a difference. Remember that." Nate said.
It was silent for a moment.
"Where you going?" Hardison asked Parker.
Parker laughed a bit. "Let's see how hard you look." Parker said.
Kaira let go of Eliot and hugged Nate.
"Thank you for making me a better person, Nathan." Kaira whispered.
"Thank you for keeping me in line." Nate said.
Kaira kissed his cheek in gratitude. She walked back to Eliot. He held her hand.
They stood for a moment. They turned and started walking. Kaira and Eliot took a few steps and stopped. Kaira teared up more and put her arm around Eliot. For that split second, she wanted to turn back and rejoin her family. But she knew they had to separate. Little did Kaira know, the rest of her team did the exact same thing. But they kept going. What lied ahead of Kaira and Eliot, she hadn't a clue. But that was okay. She had her boyfriend. That's all she needed.